Healing at the Academy convenience store

Aila pushed herself beyond her limits, extending her endurance by twenty minutes.

I attempted to boost my alertness with coffee, but it didn’t have the desired effect.

‘If you make the coffee weak, it tastes like barley tea.’

Considering its awakening effects, cooling it down and using it as a substitute for barley tea might be a better option.

‘…No, it seems my body isn’t responding well to it. I’ll have to explore other methods.’

In conclusion, the samples of just Aila and me might not be sufficient. Let’s conduct a clinical trial.

The subjects for the trial were already chosen.

I selected graduate students who were experienced with experiments and disliked variables.

***

Since the freshman welcome party, one of my regular routines has been setting up a stand in front of the graduate school building a few times a week.

Although I couldn’t do it daily, whenever I got the chance, some grad students who recognized me would approach to say hello or chat.

Early in the morning.

After preparing the donuts, cutting radishes into the fish soup in the water heater, and getting the pollock soup ready, I loaded them onto a cart.

Then, I pulled the cart to the front of the graduate school building. There, the graduate students would come out to greet me.

“Uh… uh, ugh.”

“Hmm. I received the 10,000 rin well. Enjoy.”

“Uh, yeah, yes.”

The grad students, who were in a terrible state… or in other words, the ‘normal’ grad students, warmed their throats with the moderately warm pollock soup.

“Uh, ah. I’m alive. The strength to live! My life! My life!”

After replenishing their energy, they regained their ability to speak coherently and returned to the lab with a piece of candy in hand.

Can they still be considered human? Let’s not dwell on that, as they seem pitiable. Wolfram, who torments the grad students, is a mischievous boy. They simply made the wrong choice.

On the other hand, the grad students who were doing better… the ones with dark circles under their eyes, mumbling something with trembling hands, were looking for something else when they saw me.

“Do you have it?”

“That? Well, you know the price, right?”

“Of course, I have money.”

I glanced at him, and he eagerly pulled out a bill with sparkling eyes.

“Good. Sure, I have it.”

“Heh. Hehehe. As expected, prince. I trusted you. That’s why you’re our prince.”

“I’m a worn-out prince. Flattery won’t get you anything.”

“No. No. You’re a much greater savior to us than your younger sister.”

“…Tsk. Don’t say things you don’t mean. Just buy what you want and leave.”

“Yes. That’s what I should do. Hehe.”

Saying that, he wanted one of the donuts that still had a bit of warmth.

A delectable treat filled with creamy goodness that could send blood sugar levels to the moon.

The grad student accepted it with trembling hands.

“Heh, hehe. This. This. Is one set 50,000 rin?”

“That’s right.”

“Heeheeheeheeheehee!! I bought it! I bought the donuts today!! I’m the winner today, hee, heehee!!”

The grad student holding a set of five donuts and laughing loudly was somewhat terrifying, but the royal bloodline skill did not allow for panic in any situation.

“Listen, I have a question.”

“Yes, Prince. Hehe. Ask me anything, anything. Do you want research results?”

“Lately, there have been a lot of people looking for donuts. Where did this spread from? I don’t have a large enough stock to sell openly, so it’s difficult if too many people flock here.”

‘It’s important to keep it moderate since I also need to use beans for research.’

“Well, one of my lab mates ran away during the freshman welcome party.”

“…?”

Why does that suddenly come up?

“The idiot wanted to go back to seven years ago, so he escaped from the lab to enjoy the welcome party with the freshmen.”

Ah, such a sad story.

“Wait, so one of the customers at that time was…”

“Yes. There was a grad student who tasted your donuts at the party. He said this donut tastes heavenly. We are secretly sharing this information among ourselves and trying our best to prevent it from spreading further. Today, the other guys were caught by the professor, but I was able to escape and buy it. Hehe, heeheehee!!”

“I see. That’s fine then.”

“Actually, I was lucky. It’s not often that you sell here. It’s only with the help of heaven and the guidance of earth that we humans can survive.”

That’s because I don’t have enough energy.

“Thanks for the information. It seems the grad students view me favorably.”

“We are not young enough to get involved in undergraduate politics. And we’re not grown-up enough to be independent.”

“Hmm.”

Why do you say such touching things?

“So, we’re going to cram this sugar… and fried bread! And the donuts that even make the brain happy into our mouths and write our papers. Hee, heehee!”

Give me back my touch.

Anyway, the reason I talked to this grad student was to get an appraisal of a new product from someone other than Aila.

“Anyway, take this and eat it with the donuts, and let me know your thoughts by tomorrow.”

“What is it?”

“It’s something called coffee. A new drink. It has a slight awakening effect and may make it difficult to fall asleep at night… but the awakening effect is for sure. It tastes bitter, so you may add sugar, or rely on the sweetness of the donuts.”

“Hmm, got it. If the prince gives it, I should give it a try!”

With that, the grad student took the donuts and disappeared.

“Grad school, huh. I’ll never go in my life.”

Why did they make such a choice?

It’s hard to know.

******

Feedback on the coffee came back sooner than expected.

“It was bitter. If it had a strong flavor, it would have been bearable, but the awakening effect was minimal.”

“Just as I thought.”

Indeed, the beans I have now only give a ‘bitter taste’, as it’s not made from coffee beans. There are beans with a bitter taste deeper in the eastern forest, but until I get them, I might have to pass on coffee for a while.

‘There are all kinds of beans indeed.’

In my memory, there are hundreds of types of beans, and each one looks different. It makes sense why there isn’t much research on beans in this world, but I have memorized all of them.

‘Most of the beans with a bitter taste label are for severe condition treatment. It’s inevitable.’

Tier 9 beans are for low-level condition treatment. Tier 8 is for healing or medium-level condition treatment. From tier 7, they give buffs. Tier 6 and above have magical effects or can even be used for attacks.

Of course, it would be tiring to sort, roast, and classify within that, so let’s set aside the desire for coffee for now.

With that in mind, I was considering how to mix beans that generally taste sweet, bubbles, or aqua beans and energy beans.

As I was preparing for the next class and calculating the effects of the beans while walking down the hallway, I encountered her.

“Tch.”

“Tch.”

The moment our eyes met, we clicked our tongues, showing that we are indeed siblings.

Aren’t we, Eve?

“I believe it’s close-minded for a student council president to make disapproving sounds when they see someone’s face.”

“That would be the case if you were just an ordinary student.”

“Well, thanks to the president’s special consideration, I am now just an ordinary student.”

“If you’re aware of the favor, please behave accordingly. Tch.”

“Where will you find someone who behaves as appropriately as I do? Tch.”

We exchanged verbal blows and glared at each other without caring who started it first.

In response to our conversation, Eve’s followers pretended to ignore us as much as possible. After all, why would any student dare to eavesdrop when two people from the royal family are engaged in a conversation?

“So, where are you headed, ordinary student?”

“Your interest in the academy is so high, Eve, that I can imagine you being the student council president even seven years into grad school.”

“How can you say something like that?! How, how can you say that?!”

“There are students watching. Maintain your dignity.”

“Uh…”

I thought I overheard some students behind me whispering things like ‘Is he suggesting she’ll still be the president in grad school?’ and ‘That was harsh,’ but I must have been mistaken.

It must have been a mistake.

Anyway, although I felt a pang of guilt, once I decided to taunt her, I had to follow through.

“Huff. Anyway, if you have time to wander around, you should focus on your studies. Seriously. Why are there rumors that an ordinary student is heading to the Sleeping Mountain Range? Do you realize how surprised I was?”

“…Is it something to be surprised about?”

The Sleeping Mountain Range is a perilous place.

Is she worried because we’re family?

This girl…

“Anyway, now that you’re truly an ordinary student, you’ll be treated as one, even when it comes to exam scores. You understand there are no privileges?”

“I know.”

“That’s good. You know this mini-test will count as a formal assessment?”

“I know.”

“Good. Make sure to study hard. Excuse me.”

With that, Eve huffed and walked past me.

As I watched her leave, I recalled the last thing she said and tilted my head.

Could it be…

‘Did she just worry about me?’

No, it can’t be.

Really?

***

After finishing class, I returned to the convenience store and sat down, lost in thought.

As Eve mentioned, we start with the mini-tests, then move on to the regular exams, and finally, these are reflected in the grades.

In the original D/Z SAGA, there were also tests. They were more like mini-games, but they took bits of information that were subtly presented in the game and turned them into test questions. For example, ‘What combination formula causes the most damage to the Blue Goblin when Fire Beans and Wind Beans are made into Mix Beans?’

They were essentially just mini-games.

But now, my reality is Jephryn, and the course content is quite different.

So I have to study more thoroughly.

However, this weak stamina of mine doesn’t support me, and the coffee-like concoction I made doesn’t help at all.

“Still, there was some progress.”

After much contemplation, I realized why the coffee-like substance had no effect.

‘Energy Beans cause a low-grade stats abnormality like rage, but other beans increase resistance. The two effects conflict.’

After contemplating for a while, someone opened the door of the convenience store and entered. It was Aila.

“Hey, Wolfram, are you busy?”

“No, I’m not busy. Weren’t you busy studying?”

“Yeah, so I was wondering if I could get that drink that helped me surpass my limits yesterday.”

“…Just to gain an extra half an hour?”

“Even half an hour can accumulate to create a tremendous effect.”

“…The mini-test is just a week away. You’re trying to buy a little over two hours.”

“Ugh… Oh right. Then I should drink it every half an hour!”

“What?”

“That means if I drink twenty cups in a day, I can gain 6 hours. That’s a whole 40 hours in a week!”

“Don’t do it.”

“Why?”

Are you willing to die 60 years earlier to gain an extra 6 hours?

Coffee is still an incomplete drink.

Listening to my explanation, Aila sighed as if she had no choice.

“I guess there’s no choice. Then, since I’m here, let’s study together.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Yes. Rather than walking back in a daze, let’s study together since you’re here. It’s the famous ‘study group’ that I’ve only heard of!”

“You’ve only heard of it?”

“…”

“Didn’t you have any friends to create a study group with?”

“…”

I see, Aila didn’t have any friends to form a study group with. Thinking about it, she had many subordinates or followers in Act 3, but there might not have been anyone she could call a friend.

Is her high pride the problem?

“I have lots of friends. Like, a ton.”

“Okay, I get it.”

“Just sit here for a second. I’ll show you how many friends I have.”

“I’ll get you something to drink. Something sweet?”

“Ugh…I’ll let it slide this time. But it’ll have to be very sweet!”

I snickered and got up from my seat. I considered what drink to prepare for her. Something sweet, perhaps based on Sugar Beans or Strawberry Beans. Orange Beans might be nice too. And since we’re having a study group today, let’s add Energy Beans. And to make it more than just sweet, let’s mix in some Bubble Beans…

“Huh?”

Then, an odd combination popped into my head. I immediately put on my gloves, set my skill to 10, and began the Mix Beans combination.

【You are combining four beans for the first time.】

【Energy Beans, Aqua Beans, Bubble Beans, Orange Beans.】

【Combination successful!】

With Energy Beans, apply ‘rage’ and activate ‘concentration enhancement’. With Aqua Beans, finish preparing the drink. Add Bubble Beans for the effect of carbonated water. And if you mix in Orange Beans for color, flavor, and aroma…

I took a sip and nodded at the thrilling rise of orange scent and the gradually increasing concentration.

This is it.

“An energy drink?”

It’s more effective than coffee, and a worse offender.